BEST NEW TRACK: ZOLA JESUS - EXHUMED

I’m just going to assume that we all know who the high and mighty Zola Jesus is; the dark, Florence-Welchian songstress that has made my witchy little heart thrive for years. She melds the darker elements of goth with the prettier aspects of classical, creating brooding but beautiful soundscapes with her music -- and now, she’s back and expected to release an album in the fall. I would smile if her first single wasn’t so piercingly haunting. Take a listen to “Exhumed” below, We Are The Guard’s latest obsession.

ZOLA JESUS - EXHUMED

“Exhumed” is 100 percent atmospheric in all facets. The track starts with a spine-chilling, anxiety-inducing string sample, and continues with an anticipated musical onslaught. Imagine running for your life through a thick and frightening grove, and the only thing you’ve got alongside you is the enticing but wild vocals of Zola Jesus. Gorgeous, yes. Powerful, yes -- but her bewitching voice falls to the wayside once the backing vocals behind her ring loud like an alarm, and the percussions on “Exhumed” start matching the beat of an adrenaline-driven heart.

The track gets a second wind at the half-way mark. The percussion, easily the most impressive part of this song, never truly lets up although it gets easier to digest once the backing vocals cool themselves and repeat their mantra. “Exhumed” goes from a chase in the woods to a church mass, and the track filters off with Zola Jesus reigning in on her chops and her choir behind her reacting as if it were a responsorial psalm.

So now, if “Exhumed” is just a single, and a stormy, violent one at that, I can’t wait to hear what Zola Jesus has in store for the upcoming record. Heaven help us all.

Her fifth album, Okovi, is slated for a release in September through Sacred Bones, so keep your ears to the ground. This will probably be a big one.